August 31, 2014, Flagstaff- I spent Sunday of Labor Day weekend, nearly a month ago, walking and re-acquainting myself with two Flagstaff-area National Monuments that pertain to the Sinagua people, who were ancestors of the Hopi, Zuni and Tewa people of today. I have been to both Walnut Canyon and Wupatki National Monuments, several times, but not since Penny passed on. It was time to make another visit.
I went to Walnut Canyon first, as it is the more archaeologically-sensitive and needs to be shuttered and locked up, each night. The centerpiece is the Island Trail, which takes visitors to a “sky island”, separate from the Colorado Plateau. It is there that most of the Sinagua ruins are to be found. The rest, in cliffs, to the east and
west of the sky island, can be easily seen from there, but are not accessible to the public. First, is the view of the canyon, from the Visitors’ Center.
The next several shots are of the Sky Island and its ruins. It is my practice to walk around an area clockwise. Most people prefer to go counterclockwise, so I find myself coming across more folks coming from the other direction.
The overhangs made natural places of refuge, and many were used as open-air kitchens, hence the soot marks that are visible in some scenes.
This informational sign describes the snowberry, a medicinal plant, used by the Sinagua for treating gastrointestinal ailments.
Now for some views across the canyon, to the dwellings outside Sky Island.
Lastly, Mother Nature throws in some rock formations that just seem to have personality.
Walnut Canyon may be said to have been one of the safer spots for the Sinagua, given its relative inaccessibility in pre-Columbian days.
NEXT: Wupatki
A Sagittarian Seeker 
Wow, what a beautiful place. Great pictures too.
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It is the most mesmerizing of the ancient ruins, within Arizona.
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Very interesting. Thank you. This was all new to me.
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There are so many such sites here in the Southwest, and actually, across the continent- including in Ohio and Illinois.
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I knew there were sites in the west similar to this. I had no clue there were any in Ohio and Illinois.
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We live in an interesting country.
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Beautiful, Gary! Are the Sinagua the same group that lived in Mesa Verde?
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Mesa Verde was occupied by a later people, called by the generic name, Ancient Pueblo People. They used to be called Anasazi, a Navajo word, meaning “Ancient Enemy”. The Sinagua had migrated northward, but not all the way to Mesa Verde.
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Super scenaries. If I was there personally, I would not have been able to look down those mountains. I would have been scared.
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The trails are not as frightening in real time.
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